# CVE-2026-52979: net: psp: check for device unregister when creating assoc

> A race condition in the Linux kernel PSP subsystem allows device unregistration during association creation, potentially causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-52979, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52979, GHSA-gf8v-7h89-7w9j, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52979

## What is CVE-2026-52979?

CVE-2026-52979 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: psp: check for device unregister when creating assoc

psp_assoc_device_get_locked() obtains a psp_dev reference via
psp_dev_get_for_sock() (which uses psp_dev_tryget() under RCU);
it then acquires psd->lock and drops the reference. Before
the lock is taken, psp_dev_unregister() can run to completion:
take psd->lock, clear out state, unlock, drop the registration
reference.

The expectation is that the lock prevents device unregistration,
but much like with netdevs special care has to be taken when
"upgrading" a reference to a locked device. Add the missing
check if device is still alive. psp_dev_is_registered() exists
already but had no callers, which makes me wonder if I either
forgot to add this or lost the check during refactoring...

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52979?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52979?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-52979 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-52979 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52979 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52979/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52979/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52979
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52979
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52979

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52979/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.